They live to serve. They are the K-9 corps of agriculture and invaluable to their masters. Some herd sheep, others drive cattle, and some just go along for the ride, their presence a balm for loneliness.

They walked to one end of the barn, paused, returned to their original spot, then went back to the other side.

The cows were under the command of Rosie, a 25-pound Australian Shepherd puppy. And though she had no reason to move them, Rosie ran excitedly around the group, ears perked and tongue hanging low.

“She’s just playing right now,” said Meck, Rosie’s owner. “She’s practicing.”

While she has some growing up to do, Rosie has proved herself to be a valuable member of Meck Brother’s Dairy by waking the cows for their morning milking and herding them into the milking parlor.

The dog works and thrives on the farm as generations of canines before her have done. And, while some pampered pups serve in more supervisory roles, several farmers in Berks County still use dogs to help manage their farms.

Remington, a Brittany Spaniel-Golden Retriever mix, frequently spends his day riding around in various vehicles with Ralph Moyer at Mor-Dale Farm in Bethel Township.

Sharon Nunan has a farm in Bernville where she uses Border Collies to herd her sheep. Shown here is Will, 6, one of the two main herding dogs she uses now. Here is Will taking a rest with the herd behind him.

Among them are Sharon Nunan and Mary Hill, who use dogs to help manage other animals. Nunan of Bernville uses border collies to move her 60 sheep to different pastures. Hill of Perry Township uses a two-dog team — a Great Pyrenees-Maremma mix and a pure Maremma — to guard her cows, chickens and goats from predatory animals such as foxes, raccoons and hawks.

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For the last 25 years, Nunan has used border collies on her farm because of their wonderful instincts.

“You mold it with commands and quiet movements around the sheep,” she said.

One of her collies, Will, shakes with excitement when Nunan places her hand on the gate separating him from the field where the sheep are kept. He’s ready to work, Nunan said. It’s what makes the 6-year-old happy.

Once inside, Will is off, seemingly flying as he races to the sheep, moving them toward Nunan.

“Lay down,” Nunan yells to the far-off dog. Glancing first at his wards, then at Nunan, Will reluctantly crouches low to the ground and stops moving, awaiting Nunan’s next command.

“Away,” she says. Immediately he’s up and running around the sheep in a way that leads them counterclockwise toward Nunan. “That’ll do,” she calls out, signaling his work is done for the day.

This is how Will helps Nunan the most. When her Texel and Cheviot crossbreeds are grazing, Will or Charlie, another dog Nunan frequently uses, herd them to new fields. In winter months the dogs protect Nunan by keeping hungry sheep at bay when she prepares their feed.

Sometimes Nunan has to protect the dogs, too, and that can mean keeping them out of livestock’s way. A protective mother might charge a dog if she has a young lamb with her.

“You have to be able to read livestock and read your situation, when to use a dog and when not to use a dog,” she said. “I don’t want anybody hurt, especially my dogs.”

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Over near Hamburg, on the M and B Farview Farm, Hill’s dogs Peanut Butter, the alpha female, and Skippy, her laid back teammate, were raised with the animals they tend, which creates a strong bond between the herd and the herder. The dogs do whatever they can to protect their family.

“They watch the entire farm,” Hill said. “If there’s a fox in the area they’ll go and take care of that area. If it’s a hawk, they’ll chase it away. They go where something is carrying on. They patrol and listen.”

And while the dogs are fond of Hill, they prefer to be outside with the animals. They are not indoor pets.

That instinct to be outside made the dogs easy to train.

“If they do something bad, you tell them ‘No, that’s not acceptable,’” Hill said. “They’ll put their heads down, they don’t like to be yelled at. After numerous corrections they learn what is not acceptable behavior.”

Hill said she had a problem with smaller animals disappearing before the dogs arrived on the farm. Now that her live security system is in place, fewer animals fall victim to predators.

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Canines who don’t work, or are retired, serve a different role on Berks County farms. They are companions during long truck drives or during chores around the farm. In return, they are treated as members of the family.

Tess, a 10-year-old border collie, came to Lloyd Hopkins’ Oley Township farm as a puppy to help manage an overpopulation of Canada Geese on his pond. After a few years of joyfully chasing the geese, the birds stopped flying to the pond and Tess settled into an early retirement. She walks with Lloyd and his wife, Phoebe, several times a day and occasionally helps his neighbors with an unwanted goose.

On Mor-Dale Farm in Bethel Township, a tail-wagging Remington greets dairy farmer Ralph Moyer at his doorstep every morning. The nearly 10-year-old Brittany Spaniel-Golden Retriever mix is usually at Moyer’s side throughout the day, whether riding shotgun in the truck, snout happily taking in the fast breeze, or riding inside Moyer’s Case IH tractor and watching the fields pass by through the door window.

Remington needs an extra boost to get into the tractor, but the old pup still loves to ride at Moyer’s side. The two are aging together, he jokes.